ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — While COVID-19 numbers across the state and in Western New York remain low, percentage of positive cases in the area are at its highest since the beginning of June.
The percent of tests that were positive for COVID-19 in Western New York on Thursday was 1.6 percent. Of the 5,952 test results, 96 were positive; 81 of the positives were in Erie County.
That’s the most positive results since June 3, when there were 99 positives.
Hospitalizations for the Western New York region remained at 24 for a second consecutive day. The all-time low for hospitalizations is 21, which the region reached on August 13.
The numbers in Erie County, however, were less encouraging.
For Thursday, the Erie County Department of Health reported 81 new cases out of 4,177 diagnostic tests. That's a 1.9 percent-positive rate, with the total number climbing to 9,195 cases during the pandemic.
"Unfortunately this is the highest number of new cases in some time," the Erie County Executive, Mark Poloncarz, said on Friday night.